Finding the World
by North of the North
Summary: It's your average fairytale. A renowned hunter named Alfred falls in love with a tree spirit and prevents everyone who comes after them from cutting the spirits' tree down, even when that spirit has been wrongly accused of witchcraft after coming into town.
1. Chapter 1

Finding The World

Long long ago on a piece of paper that was thrown into the garbage by a nobleman wishing for some spring cleaning of his bulging drawers full of things to be sorted and things to be looked at occasionally or even, perhaps, not at all, there is a story of a happy woodsman and a lonely elf. This paper was the only one that was written on about this story, the only one with the details, and had a curious maid failed to save it from being burnt it would have gone up in flames and would have never been remembered by anyone again.

But, the maid did pick it up, and she shared the story with her friends and in time those friends would bring it up as a curious little story to tell to their equally curious little darlings. And this continued in this strange little way, just like most strange little stories are told, and it was eventually forgotten by everyone that it was a real story at all.

It became a fairy tale.

And while there are some fairies within it, this story was very real to its inhabitants and so, I believe it is only fair to tell it the way that it had happened to them. Let's start with the love letters that were exchanged at the beginning between the woodsman and left at the roots of the personal tree of a wood elf named...Madeleine.

While this particular species of wood elves that Madeleine was from was quite alright with remaining a tree throughout their whole lives, as many are wont to do, there are times that some will feel the need to...stretch their legs, per say.

And it was on one fine day with the sun making her particularly drowsy and content in the heat that Madeleine transformed from her tree self to her more human looking self, and it was on this day that a passing lumberjack happened to see her.

Now, many people, perhaps, might have passed by this certain phenomenon. They might have been scared of being tempted into a fairy ring of mushrooms and then being forced to dance for a hundred years until everyone they know, then knew, is old or dead, but not this human. This human, named Alfred, was an adventurous sort-he liked to call himself a hero. Plus, he was captured by the blond curls that flowed down her back, and the glimpse of vivid purple eyes framed within. So he followed Madeleine.

Madeleine had gone all the way to a beach bordering a small and quiet lake nearby without noticing her foolish, and handsome, blond stalker. It was only when that self-proclaimed "hero" was screaming in terror from a creature that had risen up from the lake by her to eat him did she notice him, and then have to go save him. Foolish hero.

Foolish love-struck hero.

Although, **that** part of the story he hadn't yet realized for himself.


	2. A bit to tide over

**Finding The World**

 **25 Aug 18**

 **Summary: Tree spirit goes out into the world.**

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Madeleine whispered to herself again and took a few calming breaths.

The willows around her were cleaning the air beautifully. She thought as she gave one last glance around at her beautiful woods, the sights she'd seen her whole life. Then she spoke out loud more confidently than she had before with her little whispers of "that's it. Just a bit further. Good. Yeah, that's right."

Now what she said was, "It's time to break free."

She didn't know if it was the Hunter that made her leave, (after all, it had been months since she last saw him) or whether it had just been time. After all, it had been a dream of hers for a very long while to stay among the humans. She'd even gotten training catching the human babies from her mother's ancestral memories when she'd asked for permission to go into the human lands from the Circle of Trees Grand Council. They discouraged her, but she had to go. She needed to.

She wanted to see the people. She wanted to help them.

And she couldn't do that while in her tree.

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 **Really not that much, but until I struggle through the rest of** **the chapter and finish the story off...this is what I have and you guys have been waiting on it for a while so *cries at my pitiful offering* here you go.**

 **Hugs and wuvs,**

 **North of the North**


	3. Chapter 3

Finding the World chpt 3

18 Sept 18

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For a while, all was well. She settled into the town and took up training under their local cunning woman, learning the uses of herbs and how to apply them as the moons rose and set and gradually she found that she'd been there for almost a full season.

While there, her and her mentor had mostly kept to themselves. It was a dangerous time to be a woman practising medicine, after all. Even so, despite how few and far between her glimpses of the outside world were, those times still gave her one thing: she saw her blond hunter out and about.

She wasn't sure if he ever saw her, and while she was equal parts nervous and excited about the thought of him one day seeing that she was there, she just didn't know how to go about saying their first hello after so long since they last saw each other…and especially with the way they'd met, she wasn't too sure if he wanted to meet her again…as she wanted to meet him again.

So she said and did nothing to give away that she now lived so close by to him, and carried on learning about healing.

Until the day she found out that her mentor, Alice Kirkland, was actually his older sister.

"Madeleine! Come help me bring these in!"

She'd set down the lacework she'd been working on to bring in some extra income for them to buy long-lasting rations for the winter they knew would spring upon them suddenly with the end of the summer they were still in, and headed for the door. Only to stop, no longer hidden by any walls as she came face to face with the shocked face of her hunter, staring back at her with an agape expression most likely mirrored on her own face.

It seemed their moment lasted forever, staring at each other. Both not knowing what next to do.

Then Alice seemed to immediately grasp the situation.

"Ah," She said and smirked. "So the wood-lands dancing girl you've been ranting and raving about is actually my apprentice?"

Next thing Madeliene knew, the vegetables her hunter, whose name was apparently Alfred Jones, had brought in for them were on the kitchen table and they were sat in the hearth room, with Alice handing her a cup of tea.

With force of will, Madeleine forced her hands to stop shaking. There was no reason for her to be so nervous here. She was a strong woman who'd always lived alone with her tree. She had no reason to be scared of anyone, and most certainly not some hunter who didn't even properly know how to move about the woods.

And yet, despite her mental bolstering, she was still caught off guard by the smile Alfred then gave her as he held out his hand for her to shake.

"It's good to meet you again, Maddie," he said, and his smile was so bright in that moment that she felt as if she were still one with her tree entwined in its comfort and soaking up the sun.

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Good **news! I have the next chapter for this good to go now. Just going to look it over again and** then **can put it up too.**

 **Thanks to the reviewers** to **my translated stories, I'll be fixing the mistakes next time I have the opportunity to do so.**

 **Hugs and wuvs lovelies,**

 **North of the North**


	4. Run Away

**Finding the World Chpt 4**

 **21 Sept 18**

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Shortly after, they were married.

By the time the snows fell, Alfred was asking if she would like to move into his cottage with him. Alas, she had to refuse. Her work with Alice left her too busy to travel the distance that would be needed each day, and some of their slaves required stirring at all hours to let the herbs settle properly to infuse their healing power into the mix.

Despite this challenge, they found time for each other, and by spring she was with child.

Unfortunately, with everything going on, she forgot to keep up one vital act.

Due to her nature as a dryad, her body was not wholly human, and in the spring along with new buds springing from the ground, her hair sprouted the flowers popping up around her tree.

At first, she could pass it off as her putting flowers in her hair, but she kept forgetting. And once, while attending the birth of one woman whose husband normally hated her and Alice, the woman's husband tried to snatch the flowers out of her hair and yelled in rage "WITCH" echoing through the house when he found that the flowers were not placed there but were actually growing from her head.

Despite the babe still being birthed needing minding, Madeliene fled from the house, the man's angry fists following her to the door.

In the days that followed, mutterings cropped up and blew around more than the weather could change above them.

Madeleine could feel her townspeople's anger, but didn't know what to do about it. So she tried to stay out of their way.

Then Sunday came about, and the sermon ringing from the pulpit called for her death.

Alice had been there, and she came running back to warn her to flee.

So flee she did.

Back towards her home, the woods, and her tree she went.

But not quickly enough.

For even as she ran, so too did the mob come chasing after her. And where she ran, they followed. Even as the sky grew dark and a storm brewed in the horizon, and threatened to unleash its wrath on them all, they followed her through the woods.

Finally, she had nowhere left to run, she couldn't keep going. But she had reached her tree, so she ran and embraced her true home.

Just as she was finishing being absorbed back into her tree, the village people arrived, and saw the last of her golden curls disappearing into the dark brown bark and enfolding beautiful leaves.

Of course, this only confirmed the rumours of her witchcraft and all the problems the town had ever faced since its founding were laid on her shoulders, no matter how false or even made up the accusations were.

Five of the strongest men were sent back to the village for axes and cutting tools.

They would burn the witch where she hid, they said.

And inside her tree, Madeleine had no idea how to escape her fate, and so she waited. Her heart slowly turning back to wood along with the rest of her, hoping that by the time they came back to burn her to the ground that she would be as part of her tree again and feel none of the pain.

She had but a few moments left, and thought of all the sweet moments she'd had with her little babe and her husband before finding it too painful and merely hoping that they would find a way to get away from the wrath of the crowd, and save themselves.

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Next **chapter almost ready to go!**

 **Thank you for being so patient with this story :)**

 **Please review! It lets me know if you guys like the stories I put up or not.**

 **Hugs and wuvs,**

 **North of the North**


	5. Chapter 5

**Finding the world** chpt **5**

 **01 Oct 18**

 **Actually uploaded 05 Oct 18**

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But, of course, when Alfred heard what had happened upon coming back from his hunting trip, he immediately handed off his child to his sister, and went off in search of his love.

If he could, he would do his best to clear out the crowd. And if not, then he would die along with his wife.

She would not be alone if these were truly to be her last moments.

As he set off into the woods after his neighbours and his little green-running woman, the sky above let pour.

Madeline could tell within her once-home but now turned prison that her family could sense her return through their linked root system. However, that also meant that they could sense her distress, and she felt her mother and an older sister reach across mentally to her, but he refused the contact. She had holed herself up in her tree and couldn't tell what was happening outside. But if her tree was cut down and she died within it, then she didn't want the mental repercussions of her dying pains to reach the only blood-related family that could reach her right now.

Distantly, Madeline felt water on her roots, and knew that it must be raining outside, and had one last hope that the rain would douse the flames they'd brought to "kill the witch."

Thankfully, that wish was heard as the sky outside thundered and poured leaving everyone around soaked with not a chance of being able to build up a bonfire to light around the tree they'd chased their former neighbour into.

That didn't stop them from ringing her tree with iron though.

Even if Madeleine had wanted to, she wouldn't be able to escape from her tree anymore.

Iron is poisonous to the Fae, after all.

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Please **review! Even though only 7 people looked at the last** chpt **, those seven still** mean **a lot and I'd like to know what you think :)**

 **Note: last chpt is done but still working on next one after this.**

 **Hugs and wuvs,**

 **North of the North**

 **P.S. Sorry about last night, was just way too tired after work finished at 10 pm to put this up. Then again, think of this as a reverse birthday present from me to you on my birthday now that it is the 5th! Haha**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chpt 6 –ending**

 **11 Oct 18**

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Alfred managed to reach the clearing where his neighbours were gathered and shouting loud enough to be heard over the raging storm even now as it picked up speed and whipped the trees around them enough to shake even the hardiest of them dancing...including the only tree that Alfred had eyes for. He'd have recognized that tree anywhere. That was the tree Madeleine had led him to months beforehand and explained what she was, not that he hadn't guessed at it before then, but that was when she had trusted him to keep her secret.

And gathered around that tree, his wife, were the people he had grown up with, made friends with, and who he now hated with an even fiercer passion than the roiling clouds above them all.

He surged forward, passing everyone to turn his back to his wife and fling his arms out wide, protecting her from everyone looking at her with hate. Especially from the two burly men who'd just come behind him with axes carried easily in their large hands.

Now that he was there, that gave his old neighbours pause.

Jared, an old miner who'd just come back from work abroad, and had always been known for his level head stepped forward first.

"Alfred, step away from that devil's tree. It's witchcraft, it is."

Alfred defiantly shook his head and glared at them all.

Jared looked around too, and signalled the rest back before turning back to Alfred.

"Come on boy, we've always had a good opinion of you. We'll even forgive you for being put under the witch's spell. Just step away from there."

Alfred glared back and took one step forward…not to leave but to show he was ready to attack anyone who came closer.

"She is my wife, and she is not a witch nor is this the devil's work! I will not let you cut her down."

Jared stared back at him, and Alfred breathed deeply to calm himself. Finally, Jared nodded. "Everyone, get back." He turned around but looked back at Alfred as he started walking away. "We'll keep watch. When he goes, the problem will be dealt with. Everyone else, go home. It's no longer safe." Jared finished with a look up to the sky.

Everyone, cold and wet from the rain, was happy to leave, but for the two carrying their axes, ready to act as soon as Alfred stepped away and ceased his guard.

However, just as Alfred felt it was safe and that the two were staying where they were so he could turn around and maybe get through to his wife…lightning split the air.

Cracking down to Earth, despite its instant speed, Alfred could almost he watched it in slow motion, helpless to help, as it struck the one tree he wished it wouldn't instantly blackening and killing his Madeleine.

When the tree started to fall, Alfred didn't run away. With tears in his eyes, he held his arms out, and let the tree crush him into the ground.

* * *

Trapped, Alfred breathed in deeply. That earthly smell. He knew it. And he knew that this close to him, crushing him to the ground, it would also be his death. A smile still grew across his face though, despite this knowledge. Because at least he was dying with the person that he cared for. They would be together forever, or at least for their forever, and that was all that he could hope to ask for. Even as he heard panicked shouting voices coming closer to maybe help, he willed himself not to react and not to wait for help. He didn't want it anymore.

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End

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Perhaps you are wondering how exactly this story came to be. For, after all, aren't the tales of most "witches" left to fall into obscurity after their fall from grace among their brethren?

Well, that might be because this story was told by the child of that "witch's" child.

Alice, after having warned her protégé, and seen her run off, had known exactly what she herself needed to do. She needed to take her own advice and flee.

Very soon, if Madeleine got away, she would be the one they went after next. And she would find no help from any of the people so incited by the idea of a witch among her neighbours here.

But first, she had to wait here. She couldn't just leave without telling her husband what had happened. Yet, fate struck happily. For though she had not known when he would be back, her brother walked in the door. Though he was muddy, and a bit bloody from his kills, he was exactly what she wanted to see.

In a few breaths, she described what happened. Scarcely had she finished that he had told her to look after his daughter, and was back out into the now pouring rain.

Alice had hesitated for just the shortest of seconds then continued packing, making sure to bring along what she could for the babe.

It was as she was gathering up the last necessities into her bag to run away that she heard the cry.

The baby.

And it struck her even more how they needed to leave, right then. And not stay for a moment longer. There was naught she could do to help, and her main goal now was to get the child and herself away safely. If she really needed to, she could always secrete the little one away and steal back to gather more supplies for them.

So she had taken the child with her, and after a few days in hiding had come back, and it was then that she had learned of the fate of her best friend and sister-in-law as well as her brother, and then she had stolen away and made her fortune elsewhere.

Fortune had smiled on her. By the time the little babe she'd brought up as her own had come to be a young girl, they had both become noblewomen, and she had a new husband to thank for it.

And when her child was older and had married her own wealthy Englishman, her own children had grown up with stories in their nursery of their true parentage and where they came from.

So really, despite one of those children having thought their little doodle of a story was made up, mayhap it was truly a memory of the stories he was told as he was just learning to speak and understand himself and somehow despite their true parentage afterwards becoming a secret…somehow he remembered the greatest story of all and how his grandmother and grandfather died.

The end.

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 **Woooooo! Finally finished this! It so was not supposed to take this long to finish typing up, then again none of my stories that are currently ongoing and finished on paper were supposed to take this long *heaves a big sigh* oh well, that's what happens when you have a hobby and life is busy.**

 **Hope you guys are having a great time with Midterms/start of school/gearing up for the best season (Halloween) and what not!**

 **Please review!**

 **Hugs and wuvs,**

 **North of the North**

 **P.S.**

 **To:** Anonmouse (Guest)

Sure!

Depending on if it is "update more often" or other things like that, I probs won't be able to accommodate that. I am doing full-time studies and have multiple part-time jobs so this stays as it always has, a stress-relief activity whenever I have time and want to or just cannot fall asleep kind of thing, but for whatever else...shoot! I'd rather know what you'd like to say XD

 **P.P.S**

 **Thank you to** Magentacrazedgirl8! **You and those who followed and such are a big part of why I kept going with this. Sorry agian about how long it ended up taking. Cheers!**


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